Lead Data Scientist

Join Target as a Lead Data Scientist – Search and BrowseWorking at Target means helping all families discover the joy of everyday life. Learn more about Target here.A role with Target Data Sciences means the chance to help develop and manage state of the art predictive algorithms that use data at scale to automate and optimize decisions at scale. Whether you join our Statistics, Optimization or Machine Learning teams, you'll be challenged to harness Target's impressive data breadth to build the algorithms that power solutions our partners in Marketing, Supply Chain, Forecasting, Search and Personalization rely on.Every Scientist on Target's Data Sciences team can expect modeling and data science, software/product development of highly performant code for model performance, and to elevate Target's culture and apply retail domain knowledge.The Search and Browse Applied Data Sciences team builds the core relevance engine and Data Science products that power Target's Digital experience. As a Lead Data Scientist on this product – you'll work with business partners to provide solutions for business problems in a fast-paced and global environment. You'll have the opportunity to design quality, flexible and performant Data Science systems and services at scale. You'll also architect Data Science solutions that capture, process and mine huge datasets in the retail industry. We'll also promote innovative thinking as well as the opportunity to use cutting-edge machine learning algorithms and NLP techniques to improve our Mobile and Web Search systems!As a Lead Applied Data Scientist – Search and Browse you'll:Develop and deploy scalable deep learning models to improve the search experience of guestsUse LLM and agentic technologies to improve ecommerce search experienceArchitect and implement large-scale AI systems using test-driven development practicesBuild NLP technology for query and document analysis, processing, and understandingCreate data pipelines for feature/label extraction and generationConduct data analysis to identify opportunities and improve modelsConduct research to advance the state-of-the-art ML, LLM, and NLP technologiesContributing to the operations/building of AI pipelinesAdopting Target's infrastructural platforms and operationalize tools and systems around themMentor and partner with other engineers to develop software that meets business needsCollaborate effectively with product and business partners to define and scope solutionsFollow agile methodology for software development and technical documentationInnovate constantly and keep systems up to date with current technologiesCore responsibilities of this job are described within this job description. Job duties may change at any time due to business needs.About you:PhD or MS in Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, Statistics, Physics or equivalent work or industry experienceResearch or industry experiences in search indexing, information retrieval or rankingDemonstrated experience in NLP, LLMs, agentic systems or recommendation systems at scale5+ years of experience in deploying machine learning algorithms into production environments with good ML Ops experienceProficient in Python or Java with excellent coding and problem-solving skillsExceptional hands-on modeling skills using PythonExtensive experience implementing and integrating ML models in production in high traffic/scaleExperience querying large databases with SQL, HQL, or some variationExceptional interpersonal and communication skills for partnering with global teamsSelf-driven and results-oriented, with strong ownership, sound judgment and the ability to move quickly while maintaining high technical standardCollaborative team player with a commitment to continuous learning, knowledge sharing, and building reliable AI systems that create business valueThis position will operate as a Hybrid/Flex for Your Day work arrangement based on Target's needs. A Hybrid/Flex for Your Day work arrangement means the team member's core role will need to be performed both onsite at the Target HQ Sunnyvale, CA or MN location the role is assigned to and virtually, depending upon what your role, team and tasks require for that day. Work duties cannot be performed outside of the country of the primary work location, unless otherwise prescribed by Target.Target will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the San Francisco and City of Los Angeles Fair Chance Ordinances.Benefits eligibility can be learned by visiting this url: compliance with state and federal laws, Target will make reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities. If a reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, please reach out to View email address on click.appcast.io. Non-accommodation-related requests, such as application follow-ups or technical issues, will not be addressed through this channel.Application deadline is: 09/10/2026